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Duel inspection failures for Allmendinger and Truex mean a loss of points

Truex finished seventh in the first Duel. (Getty)
Truex finished seventh in the first Duel. (Getty)

NASCAR’s new points format means AJ Allmendinger and Martin Truex Jr. have already earned and lost points.

The two drivers finished in the top 10 of their respective Duel Daytona 500 qualifying races Thursday night. But along with Allmendinger’s teammate Chris Buescher, the three failed post-race inspection. Their cars were too low.

In previous years, the infraction simply means the three drivers would start at the back of the field for Sunday’s Daytona 500. And they’ll still do that. But for Allmendinger and Truex, they went from having points to not having points.

As part of the points changes NASCAR instituted for the 2017 season, the top-10 finishers in each Duel qualifying race earned points. The winners of each race — Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin — received 10 points while the drivers who finished 10th each received a point.

Truex finished seventh in the first Duel while Allmendinger finished fourth in the second Duel. Truex tentatively earned four points while Allmendinger had seven.

Truex will start 35th, Buescher will start 37th and Allmendinger will start 38th. Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start on the front row.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!